17. Chase

I looked out my window to see a sleek black car pull up outside my apartment building.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath, adjusting my pale blue tie in the mirror one more time.

I'd already video called my brother not once but three times as I was trying on my suit for this fancy dinner. Luckily I owned a tailored suit from a wedding I'd attended last year, but I sure as fuck wasn't used to wearing one.

I slipped on my dress shoes and made my way down to the street. The shoes clicked on the brick sidewalk as I walked to the black car, where the driver was waiting to open the back door for me.

"Evening," the driver said. "Chase Blau?"

"That's me," I said.

He opened the back door and when I looked inside, Adam was sitting there on the other side of the smooth leather seat.

And it was hard not to literally drool over how fucking good he looked.

God, I was screwed.

Getting into the back of the car with Adam looking like a movie star already had me feeling something I shouldn't have felt. Unlike me, Adam looked like a natural in his fancy slate-grey suit.

I'd been so good all week. I'd wanted to text Adam every day, but I'd held myself back. I'd wanted to show up at his door each night and beg him to blow me again—or, hell, beg to let me blow him.

But I'd learned long ago that intensity wasn't always a good thing. He was still the Fixer Brothers' current client, and I was a professional, even if I had secretly filmed a very unprofessional video with Adam.

So he looks good in a suit.

So his eyes light up when he sees you and it makes you feel all important and special.

Chill the fuck out.

I'd known that Adam, Charlie and I would be sharing one of the black cars Emmett had booked to drive us down to the fancy dinner tonight in Denver, but I hadn't known if they would be picked up first. For now, at least, it was just me and Adam in the back of the car.

"You're looking good," Adam said, giving me a once-over. "That tie matches your eyes perfectly."

"You look good, too. To say the least," I told him. The truth was something closer to I want to fucking lick every inch of you and it's driving me crazy, but I was on good behavior. "I bet you have a lot of those, huh?"

He looked down at his jacket. "Suits? I have a few," he said. "Mostly from work events over the years."

"Are you nervous for tonight?" I asked him as the car took off down Spruce Street.

He cut me a glance. "More nervous for something else," he said, pulling out his phone and sliding it over toward me. I looked down at the screen.

A thrill washed over me as I saw it: he had uploaded our first video, just a few minutes ago.

"Holy shit," I murmured. "You actually put it up."

"I've never been nervous to upload a video before," Adam said. "Probably the only thing in my life I'm not ever nervous about. But this one was different. I set it to upload right before I left home. It just published now."

"Did you leave in the sound of us talking, in the video?" I asked.

"I did," he said. "No comments yet, because it just went up."

My cock stiffened slightly under my pants as I looked back down at the preview image for the video. It was a shot of Adam on the floor in front of his window, showcasing the deep-V shape that led downward.

"All of your followers are going to be jealous," I said. "Hearing you talk to one of your other adoring fans in the audio."

"I just hope they don't all rage at me in the comments," Adam said. "Maybe they like my videos because I'm always alone."

"We'll find out," I said. "I think they'll love it. I know it gets me hard."

"It gets me hard, too." Adam let his eyes linger on the spot between us on the seat for a moment. He reached for the tiny green bottle of sparkling water he had in the cup holder nearby, taking a slow sip.

I double-checked the glass partition between us and the driver in the front seat, making sure it was closed.

I swallowed, licking my lips.

"If it does well, in our next one you can fuck me," I told him, speaking before I could stop myself.

Bad.

Bad Chase.

Adam tipped his water bottle back so quickly that a splash of it landed on his tie. He coughed, reaching to put the drink down as he wiped at his lips with the back of his hand.

I could see the faint hints of the pink slashes on his cheeks. I felt like I'd won a prize. God, it gave me way too much satisfaction to be able to get that sort of reaction out of him, no matter how bad I was being.

"I'm going to show up at this dinner with a splotch of water on my tie," Adam protested, but it sounded like his mind was still on other things.

"I'm going to show up with a different kind of wet spot if I keep looking at you."

Worse than bad.

Off-fucking-limits.

He shook his head, but he gave me a smoldering look as he glanced at me. "I can't handle you."

I bit the inside of my cheek. "I think you handled me pretty fucking well in those videos."

Adam breathed deep, looking like he was trying to collect himself.

"So," he said. "You think you're going to try to go home with one of the fancy people at the restaurant tonight?"

His question caught me off guard.

Adam was asking me if I was going to try to hook up with another guy? It almost felt confusing to even consider, knowing how much I only could think about him, right now. But I knew how everyone saw me. I knew that for years, I'd been the unattached wild card, always trying to take home a one-night stand.

"Highly doubt it," I finally said.

"No shame in the fuckboy game," Adam said, but his words sounded hollow. He was looking out his window and I couldn't get a good read on his expression.

His comment stung a little.

I'd been called a "fuckboy" before. Hell, I'd probably even called myself one, at various times in the past. But something about it had been sitting wrong for me lately.

Fuckboys broke people's hearts. Fuckboys were careless and thoughtless, and only wanted what was best for them.

That wasn't ever what I did.

I was clear, honest, and forward.

About everything other than how much I craved Adam, I supposed.

The car pulled up in front of Charlie's house and the driver put it in park. I knew that soon, it wouldn't be just me and Adam back here, and it made me feel some sort of pressure, a tension that I couldn't ignore.

A quick burst of adrenaline shot through me, and I couldn't hold back.

I slid over on the seat until my body was pressed up against Adam's. His eyes widened in surprise, but the way he looked at me went straight to my heart.

I reached up, threading my hand behind his neck and pulling him in close.

I pressed my lips to his gently, but within a moment, he returned the kiss, his tongue sliding out against mine. I let out a tiny gasp as he leaned over even harder toward me, claiming my mouth and gently pulling on my lower lip with his teeth.

I moaned softly as his hand made its way under my jacket, squeezing at my waist.

"I'm not a fuckboy," I murmured against his skin as he kissed lower, on my neck.

"Nothing wrong with whatever you are," he said in a low voice. "I know you think I can't handle you."

I felt a flash inside me as if I'd just taken a shot of straight liquor.

"Maybe I can't handle you," I whispered. "Sometimes you do things I don't expect."

"Like I said. You bring it out in me," Adam said, sucking on my earlobe and making me groan. My cock got even harder in the process. "I can't be shy when you kiss me. When you tell me that next time, I can fuck you on camera. That there will be a ‘next time' at all. Jesus Christ, Chase, are you trying to make me lose my mind before this dinner?"

"Sorry," I murmured.

"Don't be."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement through the car windows. Charlie was walking down the front path of his house. I kissed Adam's lips one last time and squeezed his thigh before moving away and straightening out my jacket.

What the hell was I doing?

And why couldn't I stop?

I smoothed out my hair and sat back in the middle of the seat as the driver opened the door for Charlie and he slid in next to me. I blinked up at him, feeling like he could read it all over my face. I just practically tongue-fucked Adam in the back of this car. And oh, welcome in, Charlie.

"Hey, you two," Charlie said. "Ready for tonight? Am I the only one who has no idea what he's doing at a fancy dinner?"

"You are not the only one," I told him. "Adam is going to have to show us the ropes, here. He's probably been to plenty of fancy business dinners."

Adam still looked flustered. "Hey, Charlie. And no, just because I've been to these kinds of dinners doesn't mean I know how to act at them," he said. "You guys have seen me in public before. I'm like a malfunctioning robot."

"I have no idea how to act at these things, either," Charlie said, straightening his tie. "I'm going to try not to fuck it up for Shawn and Nathan, though. I know they want to work with this marketing guy. It would be so big for the company."

"We're not going to fuck it up," I told them. "Emmett is a nice guy. He's fancy and rich, sure, but his heart is in the right place, and he already loves the Fixer Brothers brand."

"Until he sees this water on my suit," Adam said. We both laughed, releasing a tension that had been building for the whole car ride.

"I'm not even going to ask," Charlie said, grinning at us.

The rest of the car ride went by in a flash. Charlie took control of the wireless sound system in the back of the car, and the three of us took turns putting on different songs to get us hyped up for the night. We were driven down the mountain and into Denver, heading right into downtown as the sun was setting.

When we pulled up outside the restaurant and the driver opened the door for us, Adam's shirt and tie had dried off like nothing had happened.

"How do I look?" he asked me as he stepped onto the street, standing in the glow of the restaurant's awning.

"Like a movie star," I said. "Like you always do."

"You're too nice to me, Chase."

"How do I look?" I asked him, smoothing out my hair one last time.

Adam leaned in close to my ear, right as Charlie started to walk away toward the restaurant.

"You look like I want to fuck you," he whispered low in my ear. "On camera. For everyone to see."

My cock throbbed. "Not fair," I said, cutting him a glance. "I just got control of myself and now you're the one teasing me?"

"Told you," he said, a glint in his eye. "You're rubbing off on me."

"Damn right I am," I said, and as he walked in front of me into the restaurant, I was able to catch his ass in my hand and give it a squeeze without anyone else seeing.

As we stepped inside, I had a brief flash of disorientation. After being in the back of a car for a while, walking into this place felt like entering another world.

"This restaurant isn't just fancy, it's like a fucking Victorian palace," I said, looking all around.

The ceilings towered above us, and chandeliers were hanging all throughout the space. The lighting was dim and intimate, with candles at every table, casting the dark purple walls and leather booths in a flickering glow. There was a pianist at the corner of the room playing classy jazz music on a glossy black baby grand piano.

"Everybody here is a millionaire, I think," Charlie said, gawking at it as much as I was. "I have never felt more like a construction worker in my life."

"There he is," Emmett said as he caught sight of us. "The star of the hour, and the talent behind him. Hi, Adam. Hey, Chase and Charlie."

Emmett started to lead us over toward a long table, immediately working his way into a conversation with Adam about how much he loved the finishes he chose for his kitchen counters.

"The one millionaire in here that we actually know," I said to Charlie. "I didn't expect that Emmett could potentially be the least wealthy person in here."

"Well, he's not the only millionaire we know," Charlie told me, gesturing over toward Kace, who was over at the big table already sitting next to Nathan and Shawn.

"Okay, true. Kace is a pro football player," I said, "but he's just as much of an inappropriate goofball as I am, so he's an exception."

Nathan had been with Kace Tomlin for as long as I'd known them both. It was a cute pairing, with Nathan being a humble, single dad construction owner, and Kace being one of the biggest hotshot pro football players in the nation.

But they worked. And it was always cool to see Kace Tomlin in Jade Brewery or around the Fixer Brothers offices.

We got to the table and took the last available seats. Adam took a seat right next to Emmett, and I was placed across the table, a couple of seats down from them. I was next to Kace and one of his football teammates, and I knew I'd have a great time talking with them—but Adam was sandwiched between Emmett and another professional-looking guy from the marketing firm, and directly across from Nathan.

A protective instinct came over me.

For Adam, being sat down there might have felt like he'd been thrown right into a den of lions. He was likely in for a long dinner full of conversations to navigate that even the most socially savvy people could struggle with.

But soon, everyone ordered their first round of drinks, and by the time it came out, I knew I had a different night ahead of me.

Adam wasn't just doing fine in conversation with Emmett and the other guy from the firm—he was fucking knocking it out of the park.

Emmett didn't seem to have any awareness that Adam was socially anxious to begin with. He treated Adam like he'd treat anybody else, and Adam rose to the occasion like a total badass. Emmett introduced him to his colleague and the two of them quickly got into a conversation about statistical methods while Kace got our side of the table in a conversation about electrolyte drinks.

It was like a little microcosm of so many different personalities, all at one table.

"So, Chase, my guy," Kace told me a bit later, when I was halfway into my first whiskey sour of the night. "How's the single life? I always thought you reminded me of how I used to be before I met Nathan."

"Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?" I asked him.

"Biggest compliment in the world," Kace said, looking at me like I was nuts. "Are you having fun out there, playing the field, picking up hotties?"

I glanced across the table and was glad the executives weren't paying attention to us. Kace Tomlin really was the most famous person I'd ever known—he was a star football player for Denver, and was nationally known for being openly gay and really fucking good at running with a football. But Kace was also the only person I'd met who rivaled me in being able to say anything that crossed his mind.

I loved him. But for the first time ever, I felt self-conscious answering a question about my dating life.

"I haven't been bringing as many guys home, no," I said, looking over at Adam to see if he was listening. He looked absorbed in his own conversation, but at this point, I knew Adam. I knew he was sensitive to everything that went on around him, and I had no clue what he might pick up.

"I don't buy it," Kace said, giving me his big, signature smile. "You're the hottest twink in Jade River."

I laughed softly. "I don't know about that."

"For real," Kace continued. "I had a guy over at my house for a party a few weeks ago and he said you gave him the best New Year's dick he'd ever had in January."

I took a swig of my drink. "What?"

"Best New Year's dick," Kace repeated. "That's high praise for you, Chase."

I shifted on my seat. I remembered the guy Kace was talking about.

"That New Year's hookup was a relatively fun night, but the guy wasn't for me. He insulted the blue streak in my hair, actually."

Kace nodded. "Actually, he said my jello shots were too sweet when I had him at my party, too. Maybe the guy's just a prick."

From the other side of the table, Adam, Emmett, and the other guy let out a riot of laughter. Apparently Adam wasn't paying attention to me at all, and was having a great time of his own.

Something welled up inside my chest—something completely unexpected.

Pride. I was fucking proud of Adam.

As dinner went on, he flew right past all of my expectations, holding his own in conversations with the marketing guys and then also with Kace and his football player friend, chatting along with everyone and making some jokes himself that got the whole table laughing.

If I'd met Adam tonight, I never would have even known he had any social anxiety. And I knew how much it must mean to him that he was able to fit in with every single person here.

I knew it was something he'd needed and deserved for his whole life.

I was watching him blossom, right in front of me, and it gave me another wave of affection for him that I didn't know what to do with.

I wasn't supposed to feel affectionate for him. I was just supposed to film filthy videos with him and maybe, maybe get fucked, if he wanted it, too.

I was finishing my main course when Adam pulled out his phone for a moment, tapping something out before slipping it away again. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and when I got a moment to take it out without being rude, I jumped at the chance.

Adam Richardsen: Check the OnlyShots video. Also you look really cute across the table. I like you in that suit.

I couldn't keep a smile off my face. I tried to hide it, but Kace gave me a nudge.

"Looks like somebody just got a promising text," he said. "Guess you're still having more fun than you let on, huh, Chase?" he teased.

"Shut it," I told him, and he just laughed.

I excused myself from the table and got up, making my way to the long, dim hallway that led to the restrooms.

I checked the OnlyShots video and my eyes opened wide.

There were over a hundred comments on the video. Usually, Adam's videos got far less than that, and in the first couple of hours, they often got only a few. The video had been up for about ninety minutes now, and people were flocking to it.

EggplantBoi4: Who's the voice? Holy shit this is hot.

Plzblastmeeee: subscribed instantly

Henryxtralong913: MORE

Daddyzcutiefav: two new favs fuuuuuck

The comments went on and on. I kept scrolling, and more kept appearing. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, seeing all of the praise the video was getting, including from hundreds of people who were brand-new to Adam's channel.

The video seemed to be getting tons of views from new people who specifically were searching for terms like "first time gay," and the new people loved it just as much as Adam's existing followers did.

As I was standing in the hall looking at my phone, Adam turned the corner and came toward me.

"I can't believe this," I said.

"They really like it, Chase," he said.

I felt giddy. "You and me," I told him, and he brightened instantly.

"I love it when you say that."

I checked behind him, making sure that the table was completely out of view. It was completely hidden around the corner of the hallway.

So I pulled Adam into my arms, crushing my lips to his in a kiss. I couldn't help myself.

"So hot," I muttered against his lips as he sucked on my lower lip, the hunger coming out in him just like it had in the car earlier. "Do you know how many guys are coming to the thought of us right now?"

Adam moaned softly. "All I want to do is get out of here and come all over you, right now."

I groaned. "Adam."

"Is that too much?" he whispered, squeezing my waist with one hand. "I'm not proposing marriage, Chase, I just want to be inside you—"

I pressed my lips to his again, breathing in his scent. "You can say whatever the fuck you want to me," I said as I pulled back. "But I need to be on good behavior for the rest of this dinner, so stop making me harder than a fucking rock and go back to being the star of the evening."

Adam rolled his eyes, but he smiled. "This dinner is going a lot better than I expected."

"Yeah. They love you. All of them," I said.

I wasn't jealous, but I hated how my words made it sound like I was.

"I haven't even been stumbling over what to say," Adam told me. "Every time I start to get a little nervous, I just look over at you and I know that I have nothing to worry about. Even if I fuck something up, you'll still be on my side. You know?"

My heart. What was this man doing to my heart?

I swallowed hard, looking up into his stupidly perfect eyes. "That is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard."

"It's just the truth."

"It is," I said, pulling in a big breath. "And you're right. I'll be on your side, no matter what. Unless you keep making my cock hard at an important dinner, you fucker."

He hummed, giving my waist one final squeeze. He leaned in and pressed a tiny kiss to my forehead before heading off back down the hallway.

I was left there with my heart beating way too fast and my lips still slick from his kiss, wondering how the hell this gorgeous, shy guy next door somehow kept getting past every last one of my defenses.